Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Anthony Hamburg played Midget AAA with the Dallas Stars Midget Major Tier 1 hockey club where he potted 29 goals and added 70 assists in a total of 70 games.

2009-10: Hamburg is in the middle of a season long learning process with the Lancers. Not known for being an overly physical or defensive-minded player, Hamburg finds himself this season on a team that prides itself on being hard-working and solid at both ends of the ice. Hamburg has fared better than expected this season but has struggled to find the kind of ice time he has been accustom to thus far in his career.

2010-11: Hamburg saw limited action in seven games with Colgate to start the season and returned to Omaha after the Christmas break for a second USHL season with the Lancers. He had 3 assists and was -4 with 4 PMs as a freshman for the Raiders before going back to junior hockey. Hamburg contributed offensively for the Lancers, scoring 6 goals with 14 assists in 31 games but his -9 plus/minus was troubling on a Lancers team that finished second in the West Division. Hamburg was -3 with 1 goal and 1 assist in the Lancers’ three-game playoff series with Sioux Falls.

2011-12: Hamburg returned to Omaha for a third season in the USHL with the Lancers. After missing time at the beginning of the year due to an injury, he scored 13 goals with 24 assists and was plus-one with 65 penalty minutes. Omaha reached the second round of the USHL playoffs after finishing second in the Western Division. Hamburg scored 2 goals in four playoff games. Rather than returning to Colgate, in February 2012 he committed to playing college hockey for Rochester Institute of Technology in 2012-13.

2012-13: Hamburg returned to college hockey – playing 33 games for RIT as a sophomore. He scored 4 goals with 7 assists and was an even plus-minus with 12 penalty minutes. The Tigers finished tied for seventh in Atlantic Hockey and lost to Niagara in the playoff quarterfinals.

Talent Analysis

He has speed to burn and has very soft hands. As his stats show, he is a good scorer and a very good playmaker. The knock on this youngster is unwillingness to improve the defensive aspect of his game.

Future

Photo: Boston College freshman Adam Gilmour has managed to stand out despite a limited fourth-line role, scoring 19 points through 37 games in 2013-14 (courtesy of Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

In today's salary-cap league, NHL teams need to pursue every available avenue to procure and retain good hockey players at reasonable cost. After going out and acquiring Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Jason Pominville and Dany Heatley, the Wild has had to bank on some of the longer-shots in its prospect group developing into dependable NHL players who can fill out a top-heavy roster cheaply and effectively.

Photo: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper, a fifth round selection by Minnesota in 2009, has shown well in the NHL when called upon due to injuries in the Wild crease (courtesy of Brad Rempel/Icon SMI)

The 2009 NHL Draft was the first for Chuck Fletcher as the Wild's second General Manager. From our vantage point today, Wild's team performed admirably in commencing the tough work of resetting a franchise whose fortunes had been dimmed early on by a combination of myopia and bad luck at the draft board.

Photo: First-year pro Erik Haula, who has four points in five AHL games this season, represents the depth of talent that the Wild have at the pro level (courtesy of Jason Mowry/Icon SMI)

The Minnesota Wild has taken an aggressive approach in free agency and trade at the NHL level, adding a franchise defenseman in Ryan Suter, and bolstering its forward corps with legitimate NHL stars in Zach Parise and Jason Pominville and a solid defensive presence in Matt Cooke. The confidence to make these moves was in part due to a group of prospects who seemed ready to come in and provide support during their cheaper entry-level contract years.

Photo: Winger Mario Lucia led Notre Dame’s freshmen in goals and points despite missing the early part of the season with a broken leg (courtesy of Tim G. Zechar / Icon SMI)

Minnesota's college hockey tradition has always been a strong part of its identity as a state, so it is no wonder that the Wild organization relies on the NCAA to bring some of its prospects along. Another major source of identity is Europe, where the Wild has looked to Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden many times in the past. Developmental strategies vary by coaching staffs, but the Minnesota Wild look to get players into situations that will best enhance their individual styles, giving each young man the opportunities he needs for personal and professional development.

Photo: Since returning from his first NHL training camp, Zack Phillips has been brilliant for the Saint John Sea Dogs, managing 16 goals and 32 assists in only 27 games. (Photo courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

The Wild's group of prospects come from a wide range of North American junior programs, and though the team can and does focus on plenty of Minnesota prospects, the development of the young draftees is taking place all over the hockey map. They organization currently has one player in the QMJHL and OHL, three in the WHL, and three playing at the Junior A level.